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MINT=5VLPICE^nV 


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WlinvAUKKfc,  Wis.,  Sbptembkr  13,  189G 


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HARLEs  Langlade -First  Settler  of  Wisconsin 


MONTGOMERY    E.  Mcl.NTOSH 


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Charles  Langlade  —  First  Settler  of  Wisconsin. 


In  the  n-firiineiU  of  Cari^MKin-SaliiTi-s  an-l  tlu-  coMipany  of  Loiibia- 
wliidi  followed  tlie  tlag  of  Franco  across  the  sea  in  the  year  i(K)5,  was 
Pierre  Mouet,  sieur  de  Moras,  a  young  man  who  bore  the  rank  of  en- 
sign. Tliis  young  man,  wlio  founded  in  Xew  France  tlie  family  from 
which  sprang  the  first  settler  of  Wisconsin,  was  the  son  of  Bertrand 
Mouet,  sieur  de  Moras,  and  he  was  born  at  Castelsarrasin,  Basse 
Guicnne,  about  the  year  i6.?y.  From  Castelsarrasin  also  came  La 
Alottc-Cadillac,  the  founder  of  Detroit.  A  few  years  after  liis  arrival 
in  Canada.  Pierre  Mouet  went  to  live  in  the  Seignory  of  Nicolet,  a 
forest  domain  lying  on  the  south  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  at  the 
outlet  of  Lakf  St.  Pierre.  This  Seignory,  which  was  given  by  the 
King  to  Arnold  Loubias,  the  captain  of  Monet's  comi)any,  took  it> 
name  from  that  Jean  Nicolet  who  visited  Wisconsin  in  1634.  It 
passed  to  Michael  Cresse,  upon  the  return  of  Loubias  to  France,  and 
the  yoiuig  soldier  from  Castelsarrasin,  who  in  i(t6S  harl  married 
^larie  Teupin,  a  native  of  Canada,  went  to  live  in  the  wilderness  of 
Nicolet.  with  other  families   whom   Cresse   induced  lo  settle  there. 

In  this  community  of  ])ioiuHTs,  Pierre  Mouet.  who  was  a  worthy 
man,  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  and  reared  a  family  of  five  sons 
pnd  two  daughters.  He  died  in  1693.  The  eldest  son,  Pierre,  was  born 
in  i66g,  and  lie  called  himself,  like  his  father,  Mouet  de  Moras,  but  his 
descendants,  who  are  numerous  in  the  County  of  Nicolet  and  other 
parts  of  the  Province  of  Quebec,  have  for  many  years  been  known 
simply  by  the  name  of  Moras.  As  a  further  reminder  of  the  early 
settlement  of  the  family  in  this  neighborhood,  an  island  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Nicolet  river  is  called  Moras.  It  was  customary  in  New 
France,  at  this  period,  for  every  family  that  laid  claim  to  gentle  blood, 
or  was  particularly  prominent,  to  bestow  new  names  upon  all  its 
sons  e.\cei)t  the  eldest,  who  took  his  father's  name.  Sometimes  the 
name  chosen  was  that  of  a  locality  in  New  France  or  in  old  France, 
and  sometimes  it  was  an  ancestral  one.  In  accordance  with  this  cus- 
tom, Augustin,  a  son  of  Pierre  Mouet  the  younger  and  grandson  of 
the  soldier  innuigrant,  assumed  the  name  of  Langlade,  which  is  not  un- 
common in  the  records  of  that  time  and  which  a  son  of  Augustin  was 
to  make  famous  in  the  annals  of  colonial  warfare. 


206  CHARLES  LANGLADE. 

The  iiaiiic  Langlade  is  not  unknown  to  ImxmuIi  history.  In  tiie 
Nouz'clle  Hiographic  iiciicralc.  edited  by  D'Hoeffer  (Paris,  iHb2).  tliere 
is  an  account  of  Jac(|ues  de  Lanjrlade,  Baron  de  Sauniieres,  wlio  waa 
Ijorn  in  i6jo  and  died  in  io8o.  Ho  is  referred  to  in  Sisniondi's  His- 
tory of  Inline.  The  Wisconsin  pioneer  is  often  referred  to  as  "Uc 
Lanjjlade,"  but  lie  called  himself  simply  "Charles  Langlade";  at 
least  such  is  bis  signature  in  the  marriage  register  of  Mackinac. 

In  his  youth  Augustin  Langlade  became  a  fur  trader,  and  about 
formed  to  trade  with  the  Western  "-'bes,'  he  went  to  Mackinac,  then 
the  year  17J7,  when  an  organization  called  the  Sioux  Conii)any  was 
called  Michillimackin;ic.  Tiiere  he  married  an  Indian  woman  of  the 
Ottawa  tribe,  Domitilde.  widow  of  Daniel  Villcneuve  and  sister  of 
Nissowa(|uet,  the  most  inlluential  chief  of  the  Ottawas.  Of  this  mar- 
riage a  son  was  born  in  May,  i/jcj.  and  on  the  Qth  of  that  month 
Charles  Michel  Langlade  was  baptized.  The  young  half-breed  grew 
up  a  child  of  the  forest,  though  he  had  some  advantages  incident  to  his 
residence  at  so  important  a  post  as  Mackinac.  The  Jesuit  mission- 
aries stationed  tiiere  t;iught  him,  and  he  appears  to  have  acquired  a 
better  fund  of  general  information  than  was  common  to  tin-  children 
of  I'renchmen  born  in  these  wilds,  but  his  educition  did  not  advance 
far  enough  to  prevent  him  from  being  essentially  an  illiterate  man. 2 
But  if  his  education  was  in  some  respects  neglected,  Langlade  had  the 
best  training  possible  to  fit  him  for  the  savage  warfare  of  the  woods; 
the  ritle,  the  scalping  knife  and  the  tomahawk  were  familiar  to  him  from 
earliest  childhood,  and  it  is  related  that  while  yet  a  child  of  tender 
years,  he  was  taken  with  a  war  party.  His  uncle,  Nissowaquet 
(or  La  FourcheX  so  the  tale  runs,  had  a  dream  in  which  it  was  revealed 
to  him  that  a  certain  hostile  b.'ind,  which  had  twice  offered  successful 
resistance  to  the  Ottawa  warriors,  could  be  conquered  only  by  taking 
young  f.anglade  with  the  attacking  i)arty.  .Accordingly  the  lad  accom- 
panied the  expedition  and  the  Ottawas,  inspired  by  a  superstitious  be- 
lief in  the  influence  of  his  presence,  put  the  enemy  to  rout.  It  is  certain 
that  even  in  his  boyhood  Langlade  had  a  most  remarkable  power  over 
the  Ottawas,  and  whether  this  was  due  to  savage  superstition  or  to 
his  natural  force  and  ability  as  a  leader,  it  was  a  circumstance  that 
stood  hini  in  good  stead  as  long  as  he  lived. 

Augustin  and  Charles  Langlade  visited  Green  Bay,  then  called 
Bay  de  Puants,  about  the  year  1745.''     Their  trips  to  Green  Bay  were 


1.  T,i>s  Caiiailiciis  ill'  fi'diu'st.  .Vokiinwle  la:Piiii'iit  is  iluo  to  Itonjaniin  Suite.  Iho 
(^auii(Uiin  h'mtorlHti,  for  iiifoniiiition  roiranlimt  r.aiiKlddf's  fiimil.v. 

2.  Tasso  says:  "A  siipcofanr  to  I'c'n'  Miinniette,  pn  b:iMy  Father  .Tnunn.v,  gave. 
him  lessons  nnd  oommoiiced  his  odncatlon." 

3.  rroileriek  ,T.  Tumor,  Th.  D.,  says  In  Ills  mnnoRrniili  on  "The  Olnra' ter  a- d 
Influeneo  of  the  Indian  Trado  In  Wisconsin"  that  "Abrut  the  middle  of  the  ei'n'iry, 
Angnstln  de  I^jinKlade  had  made  Green  Bay  his  tradins  post.  After  Poitine's  war, 
Cliarles  de  I.,anglade  made  tlie  plaoo  his  permanent  residence  and  a  Ttt'e  sittl'nent 
grew  up." 


FfRST  SKTTLKU  OF  WJSCoysiS.  207 

irci.iuciU  alter  that,  ami  tluy  put  tliciiisclvcs  i>ii  a  iriciidly  lootiiin  willi 
the  Mi'ii()ininet.'s  an<l  otlier  tribes,  made  arrauKcmoiits  to  receive  and 
store  furs,  and  laid  claim  to  a  larne  tract  of  land  on  the  l'"o\  Uivcr 

It  was  a  lol^ely  and  savayje  shore  to  which  the  father  antl  son 
came.  The  broad  river  flowed  throuj^h  the  forest  primeval,  ami  the 
Indian  was  still  so  completely  tlic  m.ister  of  the  country  that  the 
trader,  i)addlin,LC  on  his  way,  found  himself  hailed  at  Little  Umte  des 
Morts  and  compelled  to  pay  trihuie  to  the  ( )ntaK'amies.  who.  lil<e  cer- 
tain barons  of  old,  claimed  toll  from  all  who  passed  their  way.  On  the 
east  bank  of  the  Fox,  so  close  to  the  water  tiiai  ihe  rivci  j;;::ir.hed  a!ji;v.t 
the  door,  and  laden  canoes  bumped  against  the  threshold.'  the  I.;inK'- 
lades  built  the  first  house  in  the  settlement  that  came  to  be  called 
Green  Bay.  A  few  settlers,  mostly  half-breeds,  jjathered  about  the 
little  trading-  post,  but  the  growth  of  the  hamlet  was  slow,  and  in  17S5 
there  were  at  Green  Bay  not  nior^  than  se\en  whitx.'  families,  who, 
with  their  servants.  num))ered  some  fifty-six  souls.' 

After  his  arrival  at  Green  Bay.  young  Laugiatle  did  not  li;ive  to 
wait  Ifing  for  an  opportunity  to  i)ro\e  his  prowess  as  a  tight ing  man. 
On  the  west  bank  of  the  Fox,  hall  ;i  le;igue  from  the  mouth  of  that 
river,  stood  Fort  St.  Francis,  where  Charlevoix  and  Montigny  h.id 
gone  in  1721,  and  around  whose  tjak  stock.ade  the  turbiUent  h"ox  tribe 
had  waged  bloody  conflict  for  many  years.  In  1746  the  commandant 
at  F(jrt  St.  Francis  was  Captain  de  Villiers.  One  night  after  a  supper 
at  which  the  wine  flowed  freely,  de  \'illiers  went  across  the  river  to  a 
council  of  the  Sacs  and  demanded  ])()ssession  of  a  boy  of  the  Fo.x  tribe 
to  whom  the  Sacs  had  given  refuge.  The  chiefs  discussed  the  propo- 
sition with  their  usual  gra\ity  and  deliberation,  and  becoming  imii;i- 
ticnt,  the  high-spirited  Frenchman  tired  his  gun  and  killed  three  mem- 
bers of  the  council.  De  Villiers  paid  for  this  brutal  act  with  his  life, 
for  the  next  moment  an  Indian  shot  him  through  the  he.irt.  It  was 
considered  necessary  to  avenge  the  white  man's  death,  and  Charles 
Langlade  led  an  attack  upon  the  Sacs,  whose  village  was  destroyed  ami 
the  Indians  themselves  dispersed.  As  a  result  of  th\^  ,ind  lesser 
affrays,  the  reputation  and  influence  of  Langlade  increased,  and  he 
became  known  as  a  shrewd  and  bold  leader. 

For  some  years  th(?  Langladcs  continued  to  journey  to  and  fro 
between  Mackinac  and  Green  Bay.  The  trade  in  wliich  they  were  en- 
gaged increased,  but  its  richest  rewards  went  to  others,  more  cunning 
and  less  honest  than  they.  It  was  the  time  of  Bigot,  the  intendant. 
and  of  Cadet,  the  commissary  gcncrnl,  and  even  on  such  far-away  posts 
as  Green  Bay.  the  oflicial  brigands  who  dwelt  at  Montreal  and  Quebec- 
laid  a  corrupting  hand.     Within  ten  years  after  the  Langladcs'   first 


4.    "Historic  firppn  Bny,"  pnee  0.5. 
.".    Tassp  Moninlr. 


208  CHAHLf-JS  LANGLADE. 

visit,  till'  tradi'  nf  tliis  |)u«.t  li:«|  Krown  to  siu'li  an  rxtont  tliat  for  the 
^)^lr|M^>,t•^  oi  KoMTiiiiu'iit  tiadv  almu'.  $iK.o()o"  worth  ol  Mippiii-*.  mainly 
trinkets  to  gratify  tht-  Inthan  love  of  tiniTy.  were  annually  re(|uirc<l. 
Ihc  Kovi-rnnuiii  cU-alt  with  the  Indians  thronjjli  thf  oltiicrs  of  the 
iort.  and  HoUKainvilU-.  Montcaiin's  lirave  and  i-a|>ai)K-  aide-dc  camp. 
diTJariMl  that  of  all  the  K<'"ds  sent  is  nilts  from  the  Kinn  to  the  In 
dian«,  two-thirds  were  stolen  and  the  rest  sold.  ".At  the  post  of 
Green  Bay,"  says  I'arkinan.  "the  partisai'  oltirer  .Marin,  and  Ki^aud. 
the  (governor's  hrotlui'.  made  in  a  dmrt  time  a  profit  oi  three  lumdred 
and  twelve  thousand  francs."  WInle  .ill  this  plundering  was  k<'''>K 
wn  about  them,  the  I.annlades  stuceedid  nidy  moderately,  hiu  lluy 
stood  well  with  the  represi ntatives  oi  tin-  novmiment.  an<l  on  the 
whole  ai)pear  to  have  fared  better  than  most  of  the  traders  who  pur- 
s'led  fortune  into  these  wilds.  Often  their  s.ijourn  at  (ireen  May  was 
attendeil  with  j,'reat  danger,  ami  (.'harks  sometimes  had  to  dispose  ot 
a  troublesome  Indian  by  otTerinj;  to  adjust  their  dirt'erenccs  by  a 
resort  to  personal  cond)at. 

Events  were  |)resently  to  call  the  vouuk  trader  to  a  wi<ler 
held  of  action.  Ilie  I'Veiich  noted  with  aitiirelieiision  that  the 
Knglish  were  Raining  a  firm  foothold  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 
In  1740  Celoron  de  Ilienville  had  none  tlirouwh  that  reRion,  nail- 
iiik  upon  trees  tin  plates,  on  which  the  arms  of  France  wer<' 
stamped,  and  burymn  in  the  earth  i)lates  of  lead,  inscribed  with  a 
ileclaration  of  the  l-Vench  Kind's  claim  upon  the  territory.  Tluse  cer- 
emonies, and  negotiations  with  the  Indians,  alike  pro\inn  inelTectual 
against  the  l^nKlish,  the  harrying  of  the  trading  posts  established  by  the 
intruders  was  begun.  On  the  .Miami  River,  at  the  mouth  of  a  small 
stream  now  called  l.or.iine  Creek,  was  a  village  of  the  Miami  Indians, 
where  several  h-nglisli  traders  were  resident.  The  chief  of  this  village 
was  called  by  the  I'.nglish  Old  Mritain.  in  token  of  his  firm  friendship 
fi  r  ihem;  but  to  the  French  he  was  known  as  tlu'  Demoiselle.  The 
village  ilseli  the  l-'rench  called  I'lipie  Town,  a  name  which.  <in  the 
tci  gttcs  rf  ICnglishmen.  speedily  became  I'ickawillany. 

This  j»'ace.  with  its  Fnglish  traders  and  its  Indi.ins  friendly  to  the 
enemies  of  I'rance.  was  a  thorn  in  the  llesh  r>f  the  Canadians.  La 
Jonquiere.  who  had  lately  come  to  govern  Canada,  ordered  Celoron  de 
Bienville  to  attack  f'ickawillany.  but  the  order  was  not  obeyed  and  La 
Jonquiere  fretted  himself  to  death  and  was  succeeded  by  Baron  de 
Lorgiui!  before  a  move  was  made  in  the  ( )hio  coiuilr.v.  The  new  (iov- 
ernor  gave  peremptory  orders  to  break  up  the  troublesome  nest  of 
trailers  on  the  Miami,  and  the  man  to  do  the  work  was  fcnmd  in 
Charles  Langlade.  Just  what  l)rouglit  Langlade  to  the  notice  of  those 
who  were  directing  French  atYairs  is   not  known,   but   no   doubt   his 

6.    "Historic  Orei'U   Hii.v."  pngi-  1>8. 


fHiSr  Sh'TTl.KH  ur  WlSCihXSl.W  'A» 

strong  and  uniwiiiu  intliu-iuc  over  tlu-  <  )tt:iwa><  aiul  ( >jil>ways  liad  made 
him  more  or  Ivss  known  at  nil  tlu*  Froncli  posts  alon^  tlic  lakes; 
moreover,  the  Indians  amoiiK  whom  he  li\ed  (-oii>tituted  the  most 
available   force  ior  the  purpose.' 

In  June,  two  lunulre<l  and  til'ty  t  )ttawa  and  Ojihway  warriors  icit 
Maekinnc,  with  Langlade  in  eonnnand:  makiiiK  a  stop  at  Detroit,  the 
liatid  pns-ed  on,  skirtnin  the  western  shore  of  Lake  I""rie  ami  finally 
reaehinji  the  mouth  uj  the  Miami,  up  whioh  the  canoes  swar.ned. 
I'ron  t<aym<md's  fort  Langlade  led  his  force — a  Kreased  and  painted 
rahhie.  in  the  words  of  I'.irkman — through  the  forest  stniuniidmn 
I'ickawillany.  The  attacking'  jiarty  came  upon  the  village  at  about  <) 
oclock.  on  the  morning  of  June  Ji.  The  Demoiselle  was  not  only 
sur|>rised.  but  he  was  in  no  condition  to  make  a  vinorons  defense,  nr 
the  reason  that  most  of  his  braves  were  absent  on  their  summer  hunt. 
In  the  IikIu  that  followed  the  Demoiselle  and  thirteen  .Miamis  wire 
killed.  ( )f  the  ei^ht  white  men  in  the  j»lace.  live  shut  themselves  in 
their  warehouse  and  held  out  lor  some  hours,  when  they  snrninUred. 
The  others  were  ciunht  by  l.;innlades  Indians  outsidi-  the  nate  of 
the  palisade.  The  post  was  plundereil  with  a  completeness  that  nave 
kei  n  delight  to  the  I'rench  autlioritiis.  and  that  then'  mi>;lit  ^e  no 
iloubt  of  the  utter  overthrow  of  the  Demoiselle.  LauKlatle's  wir.iors 
boiled  and  ate  that  douKhty  chieftain.  "Seventy  years  of  missionaries," 
I'arkman  observes,  "had  not  weaned  them  from  cannibalism." 

This  ea^y  victory  not  only  struck  a  seven-  blow  at  h'liKlish  ir.idc 
in  the  Ohio  country,  but  it  j^ave  l„in^;l;i(le  ureat  pristi).;e.  both  .imong 
the  Indi.-iiis  ami  with  the  colonial  administration.  Duipiesne.  the  new 
governor,  reiummended  him  for  ;i  pension  of  \\\<t  hundred  francs  and 
Langlade  returned  to  .Mackinac  covered  with  ^lory." 

I'or  nearly  three  years  after  his  exploit  in  the  ( )hio  country.  Lan^- 
l.ule  confineil  himsi-lf  to  i)eacefnl  pursuits,  dividing,'  his  lime  between 
Mackinac  and  (Jreeii  Ray.  Haskinn  in  the  favor  of  the  ^'overnmeut. 
respected  and  obeyed  by  the  tribes  f)f  the  lake  country,  he  prosfjcred 
in  his  affairs.  ;ind  the  little  tra<linj,'  post  at  Green  Bay  urew  in  iiuixir- 
tance.  It  was  during'  this  i)eriod.  on  .\unust  12.  1754.  th.it  l.;m>il,idc 
married  Charlotte  .\ml)roi>iiie  Honrassa,  a  youn^j;  woman  of  pure 
French  bln.Hl,  Tlir  marriage  was  celebrated  at  Mackinac''  and  Father 
T^e    Franc,    a   Jesuit    missionary,    inrformed    the    ceremony.     .Mad.ime 

7.  .Viiiinlliiir  lo  111-  Mm  kliiiip  icuIhIct.  laiivliulo  vviim  en  olli'd  ii<  n  i;Mli>t  In  lis 
nrin.v  iit   Iciist   iin  I'lirl.v  ns   17.'><>. 

.S.  In  I'lirkiiiiiirs  m  lutint  of  iln-  iilTiilr  nt  I'lokiiwlllnii.v,  Dliqupsi  o  's  qimtf  I  »i 
xn.vInK  of  IjimuIikIc:  "\h  1ii>  Ik  nut  in  tin'  Kliii:'!*  scrv'fp.  mil  Ins  niiirilf  I  n  fqiiuv.  1 
will  iisk  for  hlni  onl.v  a  pcnylin  nf  "i-.o  rrnic!',  wlilcli  «ill  I'liidT  I  lin  nfliltili." 
Miititfiilni   mill   Wiilfi'.   Vdl   I.,   pntrc  HT,. 

I>.  Till'  (iilLMmn  Mi'innir  siiys  .Munirciil.  I  ut  tie  .\rn<'kt<iflr  rrc  nl*  nniiin  tl« 
reKlRtry  of  lli<>   rnnrrliinf. 


310  LHARLKS   LASULADK. 

i-aiiKlaclc  iipin';u>  U>  ha\(.'  Iki-ii  lar  liiisl)aiul\  Mipirinr  in  ri'liiKnicut 
ami  I'diication.  Slic  was  tlic  ilaiiKlitt-r  of  Ri-iie  Hutirassa,  a  retired  voy^ 
iiK^'iir,  and  iraditinii  in-dits  Ikt  with  uncoinniDii  uraci-s  ot  pciM)!!  and 
iiniia'iilit.\  <>\  tliarailiT  '"  TIk'  .^anic  ri-cnrd  tliat  ^ivcs  us  tl)i'  d.itc  ot 
J.ani;Ia<li''s  nianiaKi'  hears  witiu-s",  to  iIk-  existemr  of  Indian  slavery 
al  that  tune,  for  it  appears  that  in  Novcmher.  173J,  l-atliir  I.e  I'rane 
luiilid  Ml  MMriia^e  (.'harks,  slave  of  Sieiir  Uoiirassa.  and  Marie,  slave 
pl  Charles  I„anKla<le. 

l.t'MV'Iade's  Imneynioon  wa^  Itardly  over  when  he-  was  a^jain  snin- 
IMoned  to  raise  the  trihes  and  take  the  war-path  against  the  I'linlish. 
'I'he  v.on  iet  whieh  had  hei.nin  ni  attacks  on  remote  trading  posts  had 
now  liecoiiH'  jreneral,  and  Hra  hloek  was  on  his  way  with  a  force  of 
Hriti^h  rettiilar-  to  attack  lM)rt  Dmiuesne,  which  had  heen  hiiiit  by  the 
l*"rincli  where  the  Allegheny  and  the  .MotninKahela  nnite  to  form  the 
Ohio  Kiver.  Langlade  asseinl)led  a  mnch  larger  force  than  the  one 
which  he  had  led  against  the  Demoiselle  three  years  l)cfore.  and  a^ain 
the  llotilla  of  canoes  came  down  the  lakes,  m,iMne(l  hy  a  motley  crew, 
mostly   Pottawattomies,  ( )ttawas  and  ()jil)ways. 

Amonj?  the  men  who  served  in  tiiis  expedition  were  several  whose 
names  are  jiarticnlarly  associated  with  Wisconsiit  history,  inchidinn 
Gautier  do  \'erville,  .\n)ahle  de  Gere  and  .Machar,  the  last  named  a 
man  from  whom  many  residents  t)f  this  state  trace  their  descent." 
DnniiK  the  first  week  of  .hdy,  1755.  I-an^lade  and  his  hand  arrive<l 
at  I'ort  Du<|iKsiu',  an<l  they  encamjied  without  the  walls  of  the  fori. 
w'ure  other  Indians  from  every  i)art  of  Canada  were  K'ltlH're.l.  In  all 
eJKlU  htmdn.'d  warriors  were  there,  with  sc.ilpinu;  knife  and  toni;.hawk. 
to  assist  in  tin-  defense  of  the  place.  I.anKlade's  hraves  are  desirihed 
by  I'arkman  as  "mnnitiKated  heathen"  and  in  the  s.ime  category  the 
histf»rian  places  Pontiac,  who  is  said  to  have  been  there,^".  Au^nstin 
Grinnon.  who  had  the  story  of  the  tiKht  from  the  lii)s  of  Lan,ula<le,  his 
Urandf.ither.  expressed  the  belief  that  Pontiac  was  in  the  i)arty  led 
b>  the  con<|ueror  of  Pickawillany.  but  this  is  mere  conjecture. 

f 'n  the  Sth  of  Jidy  scouts  bron^dit  word  to  the  fort  that  Braddock 
was  not  more  than  d.^hteen  miles  distant;  on  the  mornin^r  of  the  <jth. 
(iuni)owiler  and  bullets  were  si-rved  without  stint  to  the  Indi.ins,  and 
lame-;  .'^niith,  a  i>risoner,  lookin.u  <l(.wn  ironi  the  ramparts  of  the  fort. 


ll».  I'liiliiiiiiii  irfii-rt  with  Miiiii'  I  oniiinpl.  Ill  lis  11  ■' Diiiil  111"  111'  tlR  II  lit  1*1  k 
nwllliiii.v,  III  1.miiuIiiiIi''m  liiivliit;  iiinriii'il  ii  ki|I|ii\\  ;  iiuiilii  In  ili'-cril'lii.-  tlic  <'  nil  il  'f 
lliilliiiix  lalli'il  liy  Mdiitinlin  al  I'nrt  W'lHliin  lli'iiry  I  Mniiti'illin  iii.tl  WnlT'.  V  I  I.. 
)i:iUi>  4.S!>I.  till*  lilNtiii'liiii  sii'IiKm  iif  liiiliKiiiilc  IIH  liiivlii^'  "li-:'t  Ills  M|na»'  wife  a  .M  r  i- 
lllliiiiii'KliiMi'  III  Join  till-  wiir."  .\B  a  iiuitlcr  nf  fa  I  IliT'  In  ii  >  iiro  if  I!  at  I  a  ik  aili> 
WHH  I'vi-r  iniiirh'il  in  a  Himaw.  II«>  jitiil  a  nam  iil  smi  liy  an  Ottawa  wumiii  wlm 
llvi'il  ni    .Markliiiii'.  iiiiil  this  Hull  liori'  IiIh  iiaiiio. 

11.    lirliriiiiirM  Iticolli'itliiiiH,  Vol.   III.,  Wis..  Hist.  Culli. 

1;;.     l'iirl:iii;ili.    Minilr.illiJ    I    Wnl.i'.    VmI.    I  .    per    2  :>. 


FIKST  SETTLER  OF  WlSCOyS    \.  tU 

saw  the  painted  savages  exeiteilly  preparitiK  Inr  battle.''  Accordiiin 
to  tlic  oiVicial  records,  the  party  sent  out  to  intercept  the  British  con- 
sisted of  six  hiin<lrc(l  ami  tliirty-seven  Indians,  tliirty-six  I'Vencii  ofti- 
cers  and  cadets,  .scNcnty-two  rcKnlJir  soldiers  and  one  hundred  and 
forty-six  Canadians.  The  departure  from  Fort  l)n<|iiesne  was  maile  at 
y  o'clock  in  the  niorniiiK  and  the  accounts  of  what  folltiwed  vary  so 
essentially,  with  respi*ct  to  the  part  Lanisdade  hore  in  the  action,  that 
it  is  best  to  kmvc  theiii  some  consideration  before  m>\<  \  with  the 

st<»ry  of  the  attack.  .Anunstin  (JriKUon  says  that  Heauji  ,  the  l-rench 
<»rticer  in  coiiiiiian<l,  lu>it;ited  to  att.ick  tin  ICnulish;  that  Langlade 
went  to  him  and  rcpre>eiited  that  iii»  time  xlmiild  be  lost,  but  that  the 
attack  should  at  once  bej?in;  that  Heaujeu  made  no  reply,  whermpon 
I.aiii,'l:ide  called  the  chiefs  totjether  aii<l  caused  them  to  <leinaii<l  orders 
to  liK'Iit.  after  all  of  which  Heaujeu  reluctantly  K^ive  the  command  to 
attack." 

Another  account  says  that  the  Indians  and  not  Heaujeu  were 
reluctant  to  tinht.  Tin-  iilan  to  ambusiatle  the  ICnulish  was  ado|)te<l 
on  the  day  before  the  battle,  and  I'arknian  .says  that  the  suKKcstion 
seems  to  have  been  inspired  by  Heaujeu,  though  another  olVuer,  Du- 
mas, claimed  to  have  oriK'iaied  it.'"'  It  is  further  said  that  the  Indians 
at  first  utterly  refused  to  march  against  Hia<l(lock  and  that  it  was 
with  great  dilliculty  that  Heaujeu  induced  them  to  follow  him  I'ark- 
maii.  whose  .authority  w.as  the  relation  of  (lodefroy,  in  Shea's  "lUiluUe 
du  Mala\itiucuU\"  says  that  tlie  Indians  proved  refractory  and  that 
three  hundred  of  them  left  him  and  did  not  rejoin  the  attacking  party 
imtil  the  I'.nglish  li.ad  crossed  the  river. 

The  undisimted  fact  is  lli.it  the  l-reiich  ami  Imlians  were  three 
liours  and  a  half  in  making  a  march  of  seven  miles,  which  is  sufVicient 
proof  that  some  extraordinary  circumstance  delaye<l  their  progress. 
In  the  meantime.  Hraddock's  army  had  crc  ssed  the  Mtmongaliela. 
The  soldiers  had  halted  in  the  shade  to  eat  their  dinner  and  rest, 
and  the  Indians,  peering  betweteii  the  trees,  could  see  the  red-coated 
f)fticers  with  nai)kiii-  ])iiiiu'd  upon  their  breasts.  Whatever  may  have 
been  Heaujeu's  hesitancy  about  engaging  Hracldock.  he  did  not  need 
the  stimulus  of  Langlade  or  any  one  else  when  the  moment  for  action 
arrived.  The  vangu.ard  of  the  Hritish  suddenly  saw  a  strange  figure 
burst  out  iii)on  the  jKith  from  the  dark  forest;  it  was  Heaujeu,  in  In- 
dian huiiiing  dress,  and  he  halted  and  waved  his  hat  as  a  signal'" 
The  Indi.ms  ami  French  lired  one  volley  and  then  jiostcd  themselves 
behind  trees  and  in  the  dark  recesses  of  the  ravines,  whence  they 
poured    out    a    tire    that    demobilized    Hr.iddock's    men.     Heaujeu    was 

I.*).  I'arkiniiii.    .Miiiili'iiliii  niid   W'lilfi'.    Vol.    I.,  |  ii':<>  1*0 1. 

U.  AViH.    IllKt.   Colls.,    Vol.    vn. 

in.  riirkiiiiiii.    Mdtiti'iiliii   mill   W'nlfr.   Viil.    I..  inKi'  '.'11. 

10.  KlnKforil'ii   IllHliir.v  nf  Ciiiiiiiiii.    Vol.   III.,  iuikp  471). 


91S  CHARLES  LANGLADE. 

killed  early  in  the  fight.  Langlade  told  his  grandson  that  it  was  his 
first  care,  after  the  rout  of  the  English,  to  search  the  stores  found  in 
Braddock's  camp  and  pour  all  the  liquor  upon  the  ground.  This 
filled  the  Indians  with  sorrow,  which  they  endeavored  to  assuage 
by  plundering  the  dead.  There  was  such  rivalry  for  i)ossession  of 
the  gay  uniforms  and  other  spoil,  that  two  of  I^anglade's  young  men, 
La  Choisie  and  Rochehlave,  contended  bitterly  for  the  purse  and  trap- 
pings of  an  oflicer  whose  body  each  claimed  to  have  discovered  first; 
La  Choisie  took  the  purse,  but  next  mornitig  he  was  found  murdered 
and  his  gold  was  gone. 

Langlade  has  often  been  referred  to  as  the  man  who  achieved  the 
defeat  of  Braddock,  as  though  there  was  no  doubt  whatever  of  his 
having  brought  about  the  attack  on  the  British  troops.  In  point  of 
fact,  the  evidence  is  very  far  from  warranting  any  such  declaration. 
We  have  it  upon  the  authority  of  the  other  French  officers  who  were 
at  Fort  Duquesne,  that  when  Beaujeu  left  the  fort  it  was  in  accordance 
with  a  plan,  agreed  upon  the  night  before,  to  contest  Braddock's  pas- 
sage of  the  Monongahela.  If,  as  the  narrative  of  Grignon  (who  gives 
Langlade's  account  of  the  afl:'air)  would  lead  us  to  believe,  the  Indians 
were  consumed  with  a  desire  to  engage  the  soldiers  of  Braddock,  and 
had  to  overcome  the  fears  of  Beaujeu,  it  seems  very  curious  that  none 
of  the  warriors  were  so  far  carried  away  by  their  zeal  as  to  find  out 
how  near  the  British  were.  Braddock's  army  had  forded  the  Monon- 
gahela in  the  bright  sunshine  of  a  summer  morning.  Sup])osing  tliat 
I  he  enemy  would  have  scouts  posted  to  observe  his  movements,  the 
F.nglish  commander  resolved  that  his  men  should  cross  the  strc;im 
in  the  most  imposing  array  possible.  Accordingly  his  force  marclicd 
out  from  the  forest  and  into  the  river,  with  all  the  pomp  of  a  dress 
parade,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  any  Indian  or  Frenchman  viewed 
this  picturesque  spectacle;  indeed,  there  is  evidence  that  the  Indians 
prevented  Beaujeu  from  arriving  in  time  to  give  battle  at  the  ford. 
Many  writers  have  referred  to  the  attack  on  Braddock  as  an  ambus- 
cade, but  Pnrkman  points  out  that  it  was  nothing  of  the  sort.  It  may 
1)e  doubted  whether  the  English  were  more  surprised  than  the  French 
and  Indians,  when  the  encounter  came.  It  is  as  well  established  as  any 
fact  in  connection  with  Braddock's  defeat,  that  the  man  who  led  the 
attacking  party,  and  who  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  was  Beaujeu, 
came  suddenly  upon  the  English,  and  that  his  followers,  troop'ng 
along  in  a  body  behind  him,  fired  a  volley  before  they  took  the  pre- 
caution of  i)lacing  trees  between  themselves  and  the  British  guns. 
That  Beaujeu  was  killed  in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  all  accounts  agree, 
and  the  statement  in  Grignon's  recollections  that  Langlade  and  his 
Indians  had  to  force  the  issue  of  battle  is  practically  unsupported. 
Finally,  the  wretched  behavior  of  the  British  regulars  contributed 
(|uite  as  nuich  to  the  defeat  of  Braddock  as  any  other  circuiristance; 


FIRST  SETTLER  OF  WISCONSIN.  213 

they  shot  one  another,  they  shot  tlieir  officers,  tliey  shot  everybody 
but  tlie  enemy,  and  tlieir  rout  was  not  the  result  of  any  French  or  In- 
dian strategy.  There  were  many  in  England  who  could  not  contain 
their  indignation  when  they  heard  how  miserably  the  battle  was 
fought,  and  the  condemnation  of  the  troops  was  general.  Another 
thing  to  be  borne  in  mind  is  the  fact  that  Indians  have  always  shown 
an  extreme  reluctance  to  meet  regular  soldiers  under  any  c(Miditions 
which  do  not  provide  the  savage  with  a  moderate  assurance  of  his 
own  person-il  safety,  while  at  the  same  time  affording  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  shoot  from  ambush,  or  otherwise  take  his  foe  by  surprise. 
On  this  occasion  the  Indians  under  Langlade  were  marching  against 
a  formidable  force,  which  not  only  exceeded  them  in  numbers,  but 
was  armed  and  equijjpcd  with  a  completeness  never  before  seen  in 
any  military  expedition  which  had  penetrated  that  wilderness.  The 
Indians  were  well  aware  of  this,  and  from  all  that  we  know  about 
Indian  character  and  methods  of  warfare,  and  from  all  the  cidencc 
-adducable  on  the  point,  we  are  justified  in  declining  to  believe  that  it 
was  the  impetuous  valor  of  his  savage  allies  which  hurried  Beaujeu  on 
to  battle.  But  whether  Langlade  did  or  did  not  take  the  initiative 
in  the  attack  on  Braddock,  it  is  certain  that  his  part  in  that  mem- 
orable battle,  which  is  called  the  most  imi)ortant  ever  won  by  In- 
dians, was  a  leading  one.  That  the  French  reports  give  him  scant 
credit  is  no  reflection  upon  his  services,  for  the  regular  officers 
were  seldf)m  generous  in  their  recognition  of  the  colonial  troops. 
It  is  beyond  question  that  in  his  lifetime,  and  immediately  after  the 
fight,  Langlade  'vas  credited  with  having  accomplished  Braddock's 
overthrow.' ' 

When  I  he  news  of  the  battle  reached  England,  Colonel  James 
Wolfe  was  in  garrison  at  Winchester  with  his  regiment,  and  the  tid- 
ings moved  him  to  wrath.  "The  cowardice  of  the  men."  he  wrote, 
"exceeded  the  ignorance  of  the  chief."!'*  He  went  on  to  declare  that 
he  had  a  mean  opinion  of  the  British  infantry  and  said  that  they  often 
killed  their  officers  and  one  another  in  their  confusion.  Interest  is 
lent  to  this  observation  by  the  fact  that,  a  few  years  later,  troops  under 
the  command  of  James  Wolfe  were  to  fare  badly  at  the  hands  of 
Langlade,  and  to  escape  narrowly  a  fate  similar  to  that  of  Braddock's 
men:  A  chronicle  of  that  time  says:  "The  European  troops  whose 
cowardice  has  thus  injured  their  country  are  the  same  that  ran  away 
so  shamefully  at  Preston-Pans."!"  A  list  published  in  The  Boston 
■Gazette   soon  after  the  event   gives   Braddock's   loss   as   five   hundred 


17.  niiiKo.Tiip,  DoPoyfitir  mid  Anbury  a'l  wi-lte  of  Langlade  an  th?  man  who  de- 
feated Brnddook. 

18.  A.  G.   Bradley,   IJfo  of  Wolfe. 

10.    Oentlonvan's  .Mngnzino,  August,  1765. 


214  CHARLES  LANGLADE. 

and  eight  killed  and  four  hundred  and  seventy-four  wounded,  a 
greater  number  than  the  whole  body  of  French   and   Indians. 

Langlade  returned  to  Michillimackinac  after  the  repulse  of  the 
English,  and  three  months  later,  in  October.  1755,  Captain  Herbin, 
commandant  at  the  post  of  Michillimackinac,  ordered  him  to  take 
command  of  the  Grand  River  district  in  Michigan,  to  keep  the 
Kalamazoo  River  open  to  traders  and  to  exercise  general  supervi- 
sion over  Indian  affairs. 

This  tmployment  appears  to  have  occupied  Langlade  for  some 
months,  and  on  the  9th  of  August  in  the  following  year  he  was 
ordered  by  Dumas,  who  commanded  on  the  Ohio,  to  set  out  at  the 
head  of  a  detachment  of  French  and  Indians  and  strike  Fort  Cumber- 
land. This  expedition  was  mainly  to  obtain  information  of  the  en- 
emy's movements,  and  nothing  noteworthy  is  recorded  concerning  it. 

A  new  leader  had  come  to  Canada  from  France,  and  early  in  the 
year  1757  Langlade  was  gathering  his  Indians  about  him  at  Michilli- 
mackinac, preparatory  to  joining  Montcalm.  He  formed  a  large  war 
party,2o  and  proceeded  to  Montreal,  where  a  council  was  held.  From 
Montreal  Langlade  went  to  Lake  George  to  take  part  in  the  attack 
on  Fort  William  Henry.  It  was  the  Ottawas.  under  Langlade's  Icader- 
ship,2i  who  conceived  the  idea  of  attacking  the  English  barges  on 
Lake  George,  an  enterprise  that  was  completely  successful,  twenty-two 
barges  bemg  either  captured  or  sunk,  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  pris- 
oners taken,  and  a  large  number  killed.  Langlade  was  present  at  the 
capture  of  Fort  William  Henry,  and  Tassc  (who  speaks  of  the  place 
as  Fort  Geo-ge)  remarks  that  "Unhappily  the  Indians  by  some  ex- 
cesses detracted  from  the  value  of  the  service  which  they  had  ren- 
dered to  the  French  army."  In  making  this  statement  the  Canadian 
historian  contains  himself  strictly  within  the  bounds  of  truth.  The 
"excesses"  to  which  he  refers  consisted  of  the  butchery  of  some  fifty 
English  prisoners,  seventeen  of  whom  were  wounded  men.  According 
to  the  affidavit  of  Miles  Whitworth,  a  regimental  surgeon,  and  the 
statements  of  Jonathan  Carver  and  other  eye  witnesses,  French  officer's 
beheld  these  atrocities  without  apparent  concern.  Miles  Whittworth 
expressly  mentions  Le  Corne  (St.  Luc),  Langlade's  friend  and  asso- 
ciate, as  one  of  those  who.  though  present,  did  not  offer  to  pr6tect 
the  wounded  prisoners  from  the  tomahawks  of  the  Indians. 

At  the  close  of  this  campaign  Vaudreuil,  governor  of  the  colotiy, 
rewarded  Langlade  for  his  services  by  appointing  him  second  officer 
at  Michillimackinac.  with  a  salary  of  a  thousand  francs  per  annum  and 
the  rank  of  lieutenant.     This  was   in  September,    1757,  and  Langlade 


20.  Tlip  TiiKM'    MoiiKilr  Kiiys   there   were  srvenil   Inindred   Indlnns  In    this   force, 
the  OttnwiiH  nhnic  miniln'rliij?  three  huiu1re<l  and  thirty-seven. 

21.  I^ttiTti  uf   Muntcniin,   qnote<l   h.v  Tncse. 


FIRST  SETTLER  OF  WISCONSIN.  215 

returned  at  once  to  Michillimackinac,  where  he  remained  until  the 
following  summer. 

His  next  expedition  took  him  to  Fort  Duquesne  again,  hut  we 
have  no  particular  account  of  his  services  there.  When  M.  de  Lig- 
neris.  the  commandant,  destroyed  the  fort  upon  the  approach  of  the 
English  imdcr  General  Forbes,  the  French  garrison  had  been  reduced 
to  two  hundred  men,  because  of  lack  of  supplies,  so  it  is  not  likely  that 
Langlade  and  his   Indians  were  present  on  that  occasion. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1759  Langlade  went  to  Quebec,  whither 
he  is  said  to  have  led  two  hundred  Indians  from  Michillimackinac.22 
He  arrived  at  Montreal  on  June  23,  and  later  joined  the  forces  un- 
der Montcalm.  We  are  told  that  the  Indians  who  served  at  Quebec 
included  Sacs,  Menominees,  Chippewas  and  Foxes,  so  the  Wisconsin 
tribes  were  well  represented. 

One  of  the  first  movements  made  by  Wolfe,  after  Quebec  was 
fairly  invested,  was  an  attempt  to  strike  the  French  in  tlank  or  rear, 
by  landing  troops  below  the  Montmorenci  and  crossing  that  stream 
some  distance  above  the  falls.  On  the  Qth  of  July  five  battalions, 
numbering  three  thousand  men,  or  a  third  of  Wolfe's  whole  army, 
executed  this  movement  with  success,  to  the  point  of  landing  below 
the  catanct  and  climbing  the  heights,  where  they  began  to  throw  up 
entrenchments. 

Meanwhile  Langlade,  with  four  hundred  Indians  under  his  com- 
mand, forded  the  Montmorenci,  discovered  the  British  troops  and 
sent  word  to  Lieutenant  Repentigny  that  this  part  of  Wolfe's  army 
might  be  destroyed  if  he  would  at  once  come  to  the  attack  with  his 
Canadian  troops.  Two  hours  were  wasted  in  waiting  for  Vaudreuil  to 
order  Levis  to  order  Repentigny  to  fight,  and  the  opportunity  was 
lost.  In  the  meantimte,  however,  Langlade's  Indians,  impatient  of 
delay,  attacked  a  body  of  rangers  sent  out  by  the  English,  and  inflicted 
severe  loss  upon  them.  The  rangers  were  driven  back  upon  the 
battalions  under  Generals  Townshend  and  Murray,  and  when  Lang- 
lade's braves  re-crossed  the  ford  they  took  thirty-six  scalps  with  them. 

The  record  of  this  affair  of  ^lontmorenci  goes  farther  to  prove 
Langlade'.s  military  discernment  than  almost  any  other  evidence  wc 
possess.  Had  the  opportunity  which  he  pointed  out  to  his  superiors 
been  promptly  acted  upon,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  force  under 
Townshend  and  Murray  would  have  been  routed,  if  not  annihilated, 
and  Wolfe  could  never  have  hoped  to  take  Quebec  with  his  army  so 
weakened.  Parkman  says:  "If  Repentigny  had  advanced  and  Levis 
had  followed  with  his  main  body,  the  consequence  to  the  English 
might  have  been  serious-''^"*  In  a  "Dialogue  in  Hades  between  the 
Marquis  de  Montcalm  and  General  Wolfe,"  which  is  attributed  to  Chev- 


22.  ranailinii  Memoir,   (jiioted   liy  Tasse. 

23.  I'crkniiin.   Moiitcnlm  and  Wolfe. 


216  CHARLES  LANOLADE. 

alier  de  Johnstone,  the  Scotch  Jacobite  officer  wlio  served  under 
Alontcahn,  there  is  a  reference  to  Langlade's  action  on  this  occasion. 
The  author  of  this  dialofj^ue  (which  is  sin)ilar  in  style  to  Lord  Lyttel- 
ton's  Dialogues  of  the  Dead)  was  evidently  of  the  opinion  that  W  'fe 
risked  the  loss  of  his  whole  army  by  the  movement.  A  report  in  the 
French  Archives  says  that  Langlade's  Indians  killed  or  wounded  more 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  linglish. 

Langlade  fought  in  the  battle  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  where 
the  fate  of  Quebec  was  dccifled,  on  September  13,  and  two  of  his 
brotiiers,  who  were  with  him.  were  killed  in  that  action.  After  the  fall 
of  the  city  he  returned  to  Michillimackinac.  but  the  following  year. 
1760,  found  him  in  Canada  again,  a  lieutenant's  commission  signed 
by  King  Louis  XV.  having  meanwhile  been  bestowed  upon  him  as  a 
reward  for  his  services. 

His  last  battle  under  the  French  banner  is  believed  to  have  been 
that  fruitless  victory  which  Levis  won  in  A])ril.  1760.  on  the  field  where 
Montcalm  was  defeated  the  year  before.  In  September  Langlade  was 
ordered  by  Vaudreuil  to  go  to  Michillimackinac  and  encourage  the  In- 
dians in  their  attachment  to  the  French  nation,  assuring  them  that  if 
the  colony  were  surrendered  to  the  English,  it  could  at  the  utmost 
remain  only  a  few  months  in  their  power.  Six  days  later  another  dis- 
patch came  from  Vaudreuil.  announcing  that  he  had  "decided  to  capit- 
ulate with  General  Amherst,  upon  conditions  very  advantageous  for 
the  colonists  and  particularly  for  the  inhabitants  of  Michillimackinac." 

An  English  garrison  first  occupied  the  fort  at  Michillimackinac  in 
1761,"*  when  Captain  George  Etherington  took  command  there.  In 
the  same  year  Lieutenant  Gorrell,  with  seventeen  men  of  the  6oth  or 
Roj-al  American  Regiment,  occupied  Green  Bay.  About  this  time 
Langlade  appears  to  have  had  his  family  at  Green  Bay,  for  Grignon 
mentions  that  both  of  ihe  Langlades.  Augustin  and  Charles,  jour- 
neyed to  Michillimackinac,  soon  after  Captain  Etherington  assumed 
command  there,  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance.  Charles  still  con- 
tinued in  the  offlce  of  superintendent  of  Indian  afTairs  at  Green  Bay,  a 
post  which  he  had  held  under  the  French,  and  was  also  made  com- 
mander of  the   milittia. 

At  this  time  Charles  Langlade  had  by  no  means  severed  all  ties 
that  bound  him  to  Michillimackinac,  for  under  date  of  April  13.  1763. 
Captain  Etherington  issued  an  order  authorizing  the  Langlades,  father 
and  son,  to  remove  to  Green  Bay  with  their  families.    This  permission 


24.  In  1761  there  were  about  thirty  rnmllles  at  Port  MlrhllUmaoklnac.  The 
fort  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  strait,  wliere  .Mackliiao  City  now  stiinds  Thero 
was  a  stockade  of  cedar  logs,  built  so  near  the  water's  edge  tliat  nh  n  the  wind  wa« 
In  the  north  the  waves  broke  apninst  tlie  fort.  On  llie  liastlons  were  niou'itel  two 
■mall  pieces  of  brass  cannon.  Within  the  stuckode  were  t'le  houses  and  a  church, 
the  character  of  the  buildlugs  being  deserllied  by  Henry  ns  neat  and  cnmm  d'ons. 


FIRST  SETTLER  OF  WISCONSIN.  217 

Charles,  at  least,  does  not  seem  to  have  availed  himself  of,  for  he  was 
at  Michillimackinac  when  the  Indians  massacred  Etherington's  garri- 
son, and  we  have  the  statement  of  Alexander  Henry  that  MadaMe 
Langlade  and  the  whole  domestic  estahlishment  were  there  also. 

Knowledge  of  the  conspiracy  of  Pontiac  having  come  to  Langlade, 
lie  warned  Captain  Ethcrington,  who  could  not  bring  himself  to  be- 
lieve that  the  Indians  really  meditated  an  attack  upon  him,  and  dis- 
missed Langlade  with  the  assurance  that  the  rumors  of  an  uprising 
were  the  foolish  stories  of  old  women.  The  result  was  that  on  the 
4th  of  June  (a  letter  from  Ethcrington  to  Gorrell  makes  the  date 
June  2nd)  a  party  of  Ojibways  and  Sacs,  having  gained  entrance  to 
the  fort  under  pretense  of  seeking  to  recover  a  ball  with  which  they 
were  playing,  fell  upon  the  English  suddenly  and  killed  Lieutenant 
Jamet  and  fifteen  others.  Ethcrington,  Lieutenant  Leslie  and  eleven 
men  were  spared  and  Langlade,  as  related  in  Grignon's  Recollections, 
saved  the  two  officers  from  torture  by  boldly  releasing  them  after  they 
had  been  bound  to  the  stake. 

The  statement  that  Major  Ethcrington  bad  warning  of  the  con- 
spiracy against  the  English  is  confirmed  by  Alexander  Ilcnry,  who 
says  in  bis  I'rax'ch  and  Adventures  in  Canada  that  "M.  Laurent  Du- 
cbarme  distinctly  informed  ^fajor  Ethcrington  that  a  plan  was  abso- 
lutely conceived  for  destroying  him.  bis  garrison  and  all  the  English 
in  the  upper  country,"  and  though  no  mention  is  made  of  Langlade 
in  this  connection  by  Henry,  the  evidence  all  goes  to  show  that  Lang- 
lade acted  in  good  faith  with  the  English  connnander.  who  showed  a 
disinclination  to  be  warned  quite  equal  to  that  of  Rraddock.  To  M. 
Ducharmc,  Henry  says,  Ethcrington  declared  that  the  reports  of  an 
intended  Indian  attack  proceeded  from  evil-disposed  persons,  and  he 
threatened  to  send  the  next  who  should  bring  him  such  information 
a  prisoner  to  Detroit. 

Henry  complains  of  the  manner  in  which  Langlade  treated  him 
during  the  massacre.  He  sought  refuge  in  the  house  of  Langlade, 
who  merely  shrugged  bis  shoulders  and  intimated  that  be  could  do 
nothing  for  the  Englishmen.  This  cold  reception  plunged  Ilcnry  into 
despair,  but  a  Pawnee  woman,  a  slave  of  Langlade,  secreted  him  in 
the  garret,  and  to  the  kindness  of  this  woman  be  probably  owed  the 
preservation  of  his  life.  Later  on  the  Langladcs  gave  him  up  to  the 
Indians,  Madame  Langlade  fearing  that  if  the  savages  should  learn 
of  the  concealment  of  Henry  they  would  take  revenge  on  her  chil- 
dren. Henry  also  says  that  later  on,  when  he  was  carried  away  a  cap- 
tive by  the  Indians,  Langlade  refused  to  give  him  a  blanket  and  per- 
mitted him  to  be  taken  on  a  journey  in  a  canoe,  naked  and  shivering, 
because  he  was  unable  to  give  security  for  the  price  of  the  covering 
which  be  asked. 

It  is  difficult  to  escape  the  conviction  that  Langlade  behaved  with 


218  CHARLES  LANGLADE. 

iplninianity  on  this  occasion.  Tasse  ventures  tlic  opinion  that  Hcnry'3 
narrative  set;-,  forth  the  circumstances  in  a  manner  more  untavorahle 
to  Langlade  tlian  the  facts  warrant,  but  Henry  is  an  authority  not  to 
be  disposed  of  so  lightly.  The  probability  is  that  Langlade,  who  could 
not  at  this  time  have  cherished  a  very  warm  regard  for  the  English, 
was  indilYerent  t<j  the  fate  of  the  trader.-'' 

In  tile  meantime  Lieutenant  Gorrell  had  abandoned  the  fort  at 
Green  l>:iy.  The  Itulians  at  -Milwaukee  were  invf)lve(l  in  the  conspir- 
acy ol  Pontiac,  and  at  their  behest  a  Menoinmee  chief  carried  a  red 
wampum  belt  to  Chief  Carron  at  Green  Bay,  as  an  invitation  to  the 
tril)es  in  that  vicinity  to  join  in  the  attack  on  the  English.  Carron. 
wild  was  n  friend  of  Langlade,  refused  to  join  in  the  scheme  of  the 
^iilwaukce  band,  and  later  he  and  a  party  of  Menominees  gave  Lieu- 
tenant Gorrell  and  his  men  a  safe  conduct  to  Michillimackinac.-'*  In 
1763  the  Langlades,  Augustin  and  Charles,  returned  to  Green  Bay  with 
their  families  and  their  residence  tliere  was  continuous  from  that 
time,  tlieir  homes  in  Michillimackinac  having  been  definitely  given  up. 
We  know  very  little  about  Langlade's  life  at  Green  Bay  during  the 
twelve  years  following  1763.  When  the  Revolutionary  war  broke 
out  the  British  took  prompt  steps  to  have  him  secure  the  lake  tribes  in 
their  interest.  Captain  Arent  Schuyler  De  Peyster,  then  command- 
ing at  Michillimackinac.  asked  Langlade  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
rebellious  colonists  and  when  the  veteran  of  so  many  border  forays 
consented,  the  delighted  Captain  said  it  secured  to  the  British  all 
the  western  tribes. 

It  appears  that  the  first  service  on  the  field  rendered  by  Langlade 
in  the  Revolutionary  war  was  in  T777,  when  he  went  to  Montreal  at 
the  head  of  a  band  of  Indians  comprising  Sioux,  Sacs,  Foxes,  Menom- 
inees,   Winnebagoes,    Ottawas   and   Chippewas.-" 

Langlade  was  at  this  time  48  years  of  age,  but  we  are  told  that  he 
still  possessed  all  the  strength  and  activity  of  youth;  that  his  hold 
upon  the  Indians  was  as  firm  as  ever  is  sufficiently  proven  by  the  fact 
that  tliey  were  ready  to  follow  him  on  the  long  and  weary  journey  to 
the  scene  of  conflict  in  the  East. 

After  a  grand  council  in  Montreal,  attended  with  much  oratory, 
eating  of   beef  and   smoking   of  tobacco,    Langlade   and   his    Indians 


2o.  I'nrkiiiiin  sh.vk  of  Henry's  travels:  "The  iiutlieiiticlly  cif  this  viry  int^rostln,? 
lKK)k  1ms  iievur  bepu  (luostldiictl."     CoiiBplrnoy  of  Pontine.  Vol.   I.,   imge  357. 

20.  In  voliiiiip  VIII.  of  the  Wl.scoiislii  Ilistorl.'nl  coUeeiloiis  tluT'  Is  an  acenmt 
of  an  interview  had  In  ].S-t8  with  .Sho-no-nce,  a  Mcnonilnoo  ciiiof.  who  related  a  tradi- 
tion of  Ills  tribe  to  the  ofTeot  that  on  one  oconslon  Pontlue  visited  Milwaukee,  assem- 
bled the  Indians  in  conncll  and  told  them  that  they  must  join  in  (jne  enuiinon  cause 
and  sweep  the  while  man  from  the  country.  All  of  the  as-enihled  tribes  except  the 
Menominees,  so  Sho-no-nee  had  the  story  from  hl.<  father,  declared  themselves  ready 
to  take  the  warpath  and  follow  X'ontlac. 

27.    Grignou's  Iteiollectlons. 


FIRST  SETTLER  OF  WISCOA'SIS.  211) 

sl.nutl  lo  join  tlit  army  i)f  Biirgoync,  wliicli  liail  as.sciiil)lc(l  at  Crown 
roint    and    was    tlu-n    (June,    1777)    moving    toward    tlie    Hudson    iji 
accordance  with  the  jjlan  to  etTect  a  junction  with  Howe's  army  and  cm 
the  cokjnies  in  two.     It  was  to  aid  in  accomphsliing  this  purjjo^e  tliat 
the  Indians  of  the  lake  country  liad  been  hriiuglit  so  lar  under  l,aii,(- 
lade's    leadersliip.      Witli    J.anglade    went    his    old    Irieiid,    Luc    de    la 
CtMiie  St.  Luc,  Chevalier  de  St.   Louis,  who  in  most  accounts  figures 
as  the  leader  of  the  Indians  who  were  with  Bnrgoyne's  army.     Lang- 
lade i'ud  St.  Luc  reported  to  Burgoyne  at  Skenesborough,  now  White- 
hall,  iVevv  York,  in  the  latter  part  of  July.     Burgoyne   made  haste  to 
address  his  savage  allies,  in  a  speech  which  it  is  probable  they  were  not 
iilile    to    comprehend    after    it    was    translated    to    them.     Indeed,    the 
liii^tory   of  those    times    exhibits    few   things   more    curious    than    this 
speech    of    Burgoync's,    though    it    impresses    one    with    a    belief    in 
the  humanity  of  the    [5ritish   commander.     He  told   the   warriors  that 
they  must  not  kill  old  men.  women  or  children,  and  "on   no  account, 
or  i)retense.  or  subtlety,  or  prevarication"  were  scalps  to  be  t.iken  from 
v'ounded   men.-** 

No  doubt  Burgoyne  had  in  mind  the  cruel  butchery  at  1-drt 
William  Henry,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  this  speech  pleased  Lang- 
lade and  St.  Luc  any  more  than  it  did  the  Indians.  When  an  account 
of  this  very  remarkable  address  reached  England,  one  result  was 
that  Ednnmd  Burke,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  denounced  the  em- 
ployment of  Langlade's  savage  followers,  in  a  speech  which  at  once 
iiroused  and  entertained  the  British  legislators.  He  ridiculed  the  lan- 
guage used  by  Burgoyne.  in  speaking  to  barbarians  who  objected  to 
civilized  modes  of  warfare  <|uite  as  much  as  the  Englishmen  did  to 
scalping  iuid  burning.  "Suppose,"  said  Burke,  "that  there  w;is  a  rint 
on  Tower  Hill;  what  would  the  keeper  of  his  Majesty's  lions  do? 
Would  he  not  fling  o])en  the  dens  of  the  wild  beasts,  and  then  address 
them  thus:  '.My  gentle  lions,  my  humane  bears,  my  lender-heartel 
hyenas,  go  forth:  But  I  exhort  you,  as  you  are  Christians  and  mem- 
bers of  civilized  society,  to  take  care  not  to  hurt  anv  man.  woman  or 
child.'  " 

On  the  27tli  of  July  occurred  the  murder  of  Jane  .McCrea.  a 
crime  which  at  once  horrified  and  enraged  the  Americans  ;md  which 
has  passed  into  history  as  one  of  the  saddest  stories  of  the  Revolntion. 
This  girl,  the  (laughter  of  a  Scotch  clergyman  of  Paulus  Hook,  and 
the  affianced  I)ri(]e  of  David  Jones,  a  lieutenant  in  Bnrgoyne's  army, 
was  visiting  her  cousin.  :\Irs.  McXiel,  at  Fort  Edward,  when  Indians 
attacked  the  house  and  took  the  two  women  away  captive.  There  have 
been  various  versions  of  this  unhappy  affair,  but  the  acconn* .  agree 
in  stating  that  on  the  day  after  the  attack  on   the   .McXiel   nouse,  an 

'2X.    l-'lske,   "Auuiiciiii  Ucvnhitiiiii." 


220  CHA R  LES  LA  NGLADE. 

Indian  of  the  party  headed  by  Langhide  and  St.  Lnc,  and  known  as  the 
Wyandot  Panther,  appeared  in  camp  witii  Miss  McCrea's  scalp  dan- 
ghng  from  liis  belt.  Tlie  Wyandot  chiimed  that  she  had  been  acci- 
dentally sliot  in  an  encounter  between  the  Indians  and  some  American 
soldiers,  but  the  belief  was  strong,  in  the  British  army  as  well  as  among 
the  colonists,  that  she  had  been  cruelly  nnirdered.  Rnrgoyne  wanted 
to  bailor  the  Wyandot  Panther  fortlnvith.  and  was  only  dissuaded  from 
doing  so  by  the  representations  of  his  ol'ticers  tliat  the  Indian's  guilt 
was  not  clearly  proven  and  that  hasty  action  m\^\n  move  the  other  sav- 
ages to  revenge. 

Nevertheless.  Rurgoyne  gave  orders  that  henceforth  no  Indiana 
were  to  go  prowling  about  the  country  except  in  charge  of  a  British 
officer.  Less  than  a  week  of  this  restraint  was  too  much  for  the  dis- 
gruntled tribesmen,  and  one  day  they  suddenly  bolted  from  the  camp 
in  a  body. 

This  desertion  was  not  wholly  unexpected,  for  it  is  rel:ited  in 
Anbury's  travels  that  "at  the  pressing  instance  of  St.  Luc,  ;i  council 
was  called,  when,  to  the  general's  great  astonishment,  those  natives 
he  had  the  direction  of  declared  their  intention  of  returning  home,  at 
the  same  time  demanding  the  general  to  concur  with  and  assist  them.'* 
In  a  speech  delivered  in  the  House  of  Conniions.  on  May  26,  1778, 
in  justification  of  his  course  in  dealing  with  the  Indians.  General  Bur- 
goyne  said:  "Sir.  if  to  restrain  them  from  murder  was  to  discharge 
them,  I  take  with  pride  the  blame — they  were  discharged.  That  cir- 
cumstance apart,  I  should  say  that  the  Indians,  and  Mr.  St.  Luc  it 
the  head  of  them,  deserted." 

This  statement  makes  it  safe  to  assume,  in  the  absence  of  any 
positive  authority,  that  Langlade  left  the  British  camp  with  the  Indi- 
ans. St.  Luc  visited  England,  where  he  freely  criticised  Burgoync's 
treatment  of  the  Indians  and  was  in  turn  blamed  by  that  unfortunate 
commander,  whose  speech  in  Parliament,  quoted  from  abf>ve.  was 
prompted  by  certain  statements  made  by  the  partisan  leader.  The 
attempt  to  use  savages  from  the  Northwest  as  auxiliaries  to  the  British 
army  was  not  only  a  failure  with  respect  to  immediate  military  results, 
but  was  attended  with  the  most  miserable  consequences  to  the  Royalist 
cause  in  general.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  any  event  in  the  whole 
course  of  the  Revolution  inspired  such  horror  and  resentment  as  the 
murder  of  Miss  McCrea.  and  many  Englishmen,  like  Burke,  were 
quite  as  indignant  as  the  colonists.  There  is  no  record  of  the 
part  that  Langlade  played  on  this  occasion,  and  we  can  only  sur- 
mise from  the  statements  of  St.  Luc  what  his  sentiments  were. 
That  officer  declared  that  the  Indians  left  Burgoyne  because  they  had 
not  been  shown  proper  consideration,  and  because  the  British  general 
had  shown  indifference  to  the  fate  of  those  savages  who  were  killed  at 
Bennington.     Anbury   is   quoted   by   Tasse   as   saying:     "The   general 


FIRST  SETTLER  OF  WISCONSJN.  221 

showed  great  resentment  toward  tlie  Indians  on  tliis  occasion  (the 
McCrea  murder)  and  laid  restraints  upon  their  disposition  to  commit 
other  enormities.  He  was  tlie  more  exasperated,  as  tliey  were  Indians 
of  tile  remoter  tribes  who  had  been  guilty  of  this  otTense,  and  whom 
he  had  been  taught  to  look  upon  as  more  warlike."  Concerning  these 
remarks  of  the  English  traveler,  it  can  only  be  said  that  the  Indians 
from  the  interior  had  never  done  anything  to  justify  the  good  opinion 
with  which  Burgoyne  is  said  to  have  regarded  them.  Whether  under 
the  iM-ench  or  the  English  flag,  and  whether  led  by  Langlade  or  one 
of  their  own  cliiefs.  their  warfare  was  characterized  by  a  cruelty  and 
ferocity  that  stamped  them  as  utter  barbarians. 

Langlade  again  served  the  British  cause  in  1779,  wdien  the  expedi- 
tion of  George  Rogers  Clark  to  the  Illinois  country  filled  the  F.nglish 
officers  in  command  of  the  lake  posts  with  alarm.  Captain  De  Peyster, 
commanding  at  Michillimackinac,  called  a  council  at  Arbrc  Croche 
(St.  Ignace)  but  the  Indians  at  Milwaukee  refused  to  attend  and  their 
obstinacy  filled  Captain  De  Peyster  with  an  indignation  that  found 
vent  in  some  very  bad  verses.     The  worthy  captain  declared  that: 

Tliiisi>  r('i\('>;iil<'s  'it  Mihvinikci' 
Must  now  in'il'drio  willi  yiu  ii^T,  e; 
Sl.v  .SijigoiiiiaU  iiiiil  NiUiUfWdIn 
Must  with  Laiigliiilo  tliiir  forcoH  Johi. 

-[Do  r.ysti'i'rt  MUccllnnli's.] 

Finally  Langlade  was  sent  to  Milwaukee,  arrayed  in  full  British 
regimentals,  and  when  he  found  that  persuasion  was  of  no  avail,  he 
tried  the  effect  of  an  ancient  Indian  ceremony,  the  dog  feast.  He 
placed  the  heart  of  a  dog,  impaled  upon  a  stick,  at  each  of  the  two 
doors  of  .1  lodge  erected  for  the  purpose.  Then,  chanting  a  war  song. 
he  passed  through  the  lodge  and  bit  a  piece  from  each  heart  in  turn. 
This  was  a  solemn  sununons  to  take  up  the  tomahawk,  and  when  tli>' 
riles  had  been  performed,  the  Milwaukee  band  agreed  to  follow  Lang 
lade  to  the  council.  An  expedition  under  the  command  of  Langlade 
was  organized  to  oppose  the  advance  of  Clark,  and  the  Indians  had  pro- 
ceeded as  far  as  St.  Joseph  when  word  was  received  that  Lieutenant- 
Governor  Hamilton  had  been  obliged  to  surrender  to  Clark.  The 
Indians  rturncd  to  their  wigwams,  disconsolate  because  they  had 
taken  no  scalps. 

Some  account  of  this  attempt  to  defeat  the  plans  of  Clark  is  given 
in  a  letter  written  by  Sinclair  to  Haldimand,^'*  under  date  of  May  29, 
1780.     Governor  Sinclair  wrote:     "Your  excellency  was   informed  by 

29.  r'npt.  Patiink  Sinclair,  niipolntcd  lioiitonnnt-pciv  rnor  aiul  Indian  siiperln'eiHl- 
ent  of  tlip  SllclilUim.'ipklnne  In  1775.  Aftorwnrd  he  was  n:  prlyoniT  In  New  York,  o" 
the  American  revolutionists,  but  was  paroled  and  went  lo  l^nRlnnd.  In  1779  he  wa^ 
again  sent  to  take  rnarge  of  tlie  post  of  Mirhllllmru-klna".  where  he  snccoed.'d  lie 
Toyster  and  remained  until  17S2.  He  rose  to  the  rank  of  lleut>^nant-?eneral  u'ld  ded 
In  1820.     .Sir  Frodorli-k  Haldlnaiul  was  Rovernor  of  Canada  from  1778  to  178'. 


222  CHARLES  LANGLADE. 

my  U'ltrr  .u  l'\'?)riiary  l.i^t  tliat  a  party  was  to  leavf  tliis  place  ( Micliil- 
liinackiiiai')  <>n  tlu-  lotli  ol  Marcli  to  ciiKani'  tlif  Indians  tn  tlic  wost- 
\\ai<l  in  in  attack  on  the  Spanish  and  lllniois  country.  Seven  lumdretl 
and  t'lfiy  men,  including  traders,  servants  and  Indians,  proceeded  with 
lliiin  flown  the   Mississipj)!  for  that  purpose  on  the  Jil  <lay  of  May. 

"Uininw;  the  time  necessary  for  assenihlinR  the  Indians  at  La 
Prairie  du  (."hien,  delacliinciits  were  niaile  to  watch  the  river,  to  inter- 
cept craits  coming  up  witli  provisions  and  to  sei/e  upon  the  pcnpK- 
wfirkiiiK  in  the  lead  mines.  M(tth  one  ;iiid  the  otlii-r  were  etVicted 
without  any  accident. 

"Thirty-six  .Menomies  fMenoniineesI,  at  first  intended  as  an 
escort,  have  hrou^ht  to  this  i)lace  a  lar^e  armed  hoat,  loaded  at  I'en- 
cr<ur,  in  which  were  twelve  men  and  a  rehel  commissary.  From  the 
mines  they  have  hrou^fht  seventeen  Spanish  and  rehel  prisoners  aufl 
stopi)ed  fifty  tons  of  lead  ore.  and  from  hoth  they  <il)taine(l  a  jjood 
stipi)ly  of  |)rovisions.  The  chiefs  .Machi(|n;mish  and  W.ihasha  have 
kmdlid  this  si)irit  in  tlie  XWstirn  tribes. 

"Captain  Lannlade,  witli  a  cliost'u  h.iml  of  TMilians  and  Canadians, 
will  join  a  i);irty  assemhlcd  at  Chica;<ii,  to  niaue  his  attack  hy  the 
Illinois  ri\er.  and  another  ])arty  are  sent  to  watch  the  plains  between 
tilt   Wabash  and  the  .Missippi  (Mississippi)." 

I.anKJade  \  isited  I'rairie  dn  Chien  in  1780.  but  whether  it  was 
as  a  member  of  the  expedition  mentioned  by  Sinclair  is  not  (|uite 
dear.  The  purpose  of  his  goin^;  there  was  to  take  charge  of  a  larpc 
quantity  of  furs  accumulated  at  Prairie  du  Chien  by  the  Indians,  which 
it  was  thou>j:ht  best,  in  view  of  the  excitement  aroused  by  the  (."lark 
expedition,  to  remove  to  Michillimackinac.  a  task  which  Lan).;laue 
accomplished. 

The  closins.?  years  of  Langlade's  life  were  spent  peacefully  .it 
Green  Bay.  His  duties  as  Indian  apent  reijuired  him  to  m;d<e  an 
occasif)n.d  journy,  and  he  continued  the  business  which  he  and  his 
father  had  est.iblislied.  besides  lookinp  after  a  farm  which  he  owned 
near  Green  Bay.  The  manai^er  of  this  firm  was  Pierre  Grii.;non. 
father  of  .Autjustin  Grignon,  to  whose  retentive  memory  we  ;iie  in- 
debted for  most  of  the  facts  which  we  possess  regardins  Langlade's 
personality.  .Seated  by  his  fireside.  Langlade  used  to  tell  his  children 
and  friends  that  he  bad  been  in  ninety-nine  battles  and  skirmishes. 
.\nnually  on  the  ist  of  May.  according  to  a  Canadian  custom,  the 
settlers  raised  a  fiagstafT  and  saluted  it  with  cheers  and  noise  of  guns,  in 
Langlade's  honor.  The  retired  jiartisan  lived  in  comfort,  for  not  only 
did  be  have  his  farm  and  his  fur  trade,  but  the  British  government 
gave  him  an  annuity  of  $800.  Lie  also  received  a  grant  of  3.000  acres 
of  land  in  Canada,  and  in  1782  Governor  Sinclair  confirmed  him  in 
possession  of  his  lands  at  Green  Bay.  Madame  Langlade,  notwith- 
standing her  long  residence  among  them,  never  ceased  to  regard  the 
Indians  with  fear,  and  amusing  stories  arc  t(dd  of  the  excitement  into 


FIRST  SETTLER  UE  WlSCOSSlN.  '-"ll 

wliioli   slio  was  tliniwn  almost  every   time  a  traditiK   I'aiid   <>i   natiseii 
came  to  'ireen  Hay. 

Charles  I.aiiKlaile  Iiail  two  rliiMnii,  l><itli  (laiinlit'-r-i.  <  )ne  mar- 
ried a  settler  named  narcelloii.  and  dieil  vliiMless.  ami  tiie  otlur  Ueiame 
tile  wife  fit  I'lerre  (iriKUon.  Tu  ilie  eiul  ui  liis  life  Langlade  ^eems 
t<i  have  had  the  entire  conlideiue  nf  the  Hritish  ol'ieers.  for  leltirs 
wiiich  were  written  to  iiim  hy  I'therin^ton  and  Dc  iVyster'"  breathe 
the  most  frii'n<lly  snitiineiit-.  It  is  a  trachtion  of  dreen  l'>ay  that 
I.(»uis  I'hilhppe,  afterwaids  Kinn  of  France,  visited  tiiat  plaie  duriiij; 
his  stay  in  America,  and  the  Rossips  of  the  Bay  Settlement-  nsed  to 
say  that  the  IVince  led  ont  Madame  Langlade  to  dance  a  minuet,  on 
the  occasion  of  a  festal  Katherinn  in  honor  of  liis  visit.  "It  is  cred- 
itable to  the  intelligence  and  cnltivati(Mi  of  the  De  Lantjlades  and 
other  early  settlers  f)f  Green  Hay."  says  GriKnon.  "that  a  distin^jnished 
French  nobleman,  npon  visiting  the  country  many  years  a^o.  shoidd 
exjiress  his  surprise  ;it  hciriiitj  from  the  n;iti\es  (»f  the  country  the 
I'liiiih  latiKuaf^c  spoken  with  the  same  purity  and  eleK.'ince  to  whidi 
he  was  accustome*!  in   l\iri;. 

I  lis  grandson  describes  Lan^I-'Kle  as  a  man  of  medium  lieiKht  and 
powerful  frame.  His  eyes  were  lar^re  ;md  black  as  jet.  ;md  his  I'acc 
round  and  r.'ithcr  full,  but  exjiressive.  He  w;is  a  martial  ti^nre  when 
dressed  in  his  Piritish  uniform,  a  part  of  which,  the  silver  buckle  of 
the  sword  belt,  is  treasured  amon^^  the  relics  in  the  Wisconsin  .State 
Tlistorical  Society's  collection.  Langlade  died  at  Green  l?ay  in  the 
year  iSoo  and  his  wife  also  died  there,  eighteen  years  later. 

A  county  of  Wisconsin  bears  Lan^jlades  name  and  he  has  been 
called  the  father  of  the  state.  He  was  not,  however,  a  commonwealth 
liuilder,  in  the  sense  that  the  term  is  ajiplied  to  the  Pilij;rim  Fathers  or 
the  men  of  a  Kcneration  that  follo\\e<l  L;inj;lade.  who  or.n;iuizi'd  the 
I'orces  of  civilizati(ui  in  the  Western  states:  he  w;is  a  woodsm.in.  h.ili 
trader,  half  soldier,  and  a  disi)assionatc  review  of  all  the  known  fuels 
rctjarding-  his  career  inclines  one  to  the  belief  that  some  writers  have 
invested  his  character  with  too  much  of  the  heroic.  Part  Indian  him- 
self, he  was  singularly  favored,  both  by  character  and  circumstance, 
in  attainiufr  inHuence  over  the  tribes  amons  which  he  lived.  He  had 
some  of  the  faults  of  the  Indian,  and  it  does  not  appear  that  he  ever 
did  much  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of  the  sava^^;c  warfare  of  his  time; 
yet  he  had  abilities  and  virtues  that  raised  him  far  above  most  of  liis 
associates.  He  w;is  honest,  at  a  time  when  honest  men  were  exceed- 
ingly rare  in  the  service  of  New  F'rancc.  an<l  throughout  his  career  he 
was  esteemed  for  his  integrity  by  all  who  hafl  relations  with  him 
He  appe.irs  to  have  been  a  kindly  husband  and  lather,  and  that  he  was 
a  good  neighbor  is  attested  by  the  high  regard  in  which  he  was  held 
by  the  founders  of  Green  Bay. 

MONTGOMERY    E.    McIXTOSII. 


30.    Ijinglnde   [inpors,    Wis.    Illst.    C</lls.,    V.  1    VIII. 


PARKMAN  CLUB  PUBLICATIONS. 


No.  1.    Nicholas  Perrot;   a  Study  in  Wisconain  History.    By  Gardner  P. 

Stickney,  Milwaukee,  1895.    16  pp..  paper;  8to. 
No.  2.    Exploration  of  Lake  Superior ;  tlie  Voyages  of  Radieson  and  Groseil- 

Hers.  By  Henry  C.  Campbell,  Mih/hukee,  1896.  22  pp.,  paper ;  8vo. 

No.  3.  Chevalier  Henry  de  Tonty ;  His  Exploits  in  the  Valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi.   By  Henry  B.  Legler,  Milwaukee,  1896.  22  pp.,  paper;  8to. 

No.  4.  The  Abori^nes  of  the  Northwest;  a  Olance  into  the  Remote  Past. 
By  Frank  T.  Terry.     Milwaukee,  1896.    U  pp.,  paper ;  8vo. 

No.  B.  Jonathan  Carver;  His  Travels  in  the  Northwest  in  1766-8.  By  John 
G.  Gregory.   Milwaukee,  1896.  28  pp.,  1  plate,  1  map, paper;  8vo. 

No.  6.  Negro  Slavery  in  Wisconsin.  By  John  N.  Davidson.  Milwaukee, 
1896.    28  pp.,  paper;  8vo. 

No.  7.  Eloazer  Williams;  His  Forerunners,  Himself.  By  William  Ward 
Wight,  Milwaukee,  1896.  72  pp.,  portrait,  and  four  appendices, 
paper;  8vo. 

IN    PRECSS. 

No.  9.  TheQorman  Voter  in  Wisconsin  PoliticB.  By  Ernest  Brunoken.  This 
paper  will  cover  the  period  preceding  the  organization  of  "the 
Republican  party. 

IN     RRKPARATION. 

Bostwick,  M.  M.— Ancient  Copper  Minors  of  Lake  Superior. 

Bruncken,  Ernest—  The  German  Voter  in  Wisconsin  Politics.  This  paper 
will  include  the  period  of  the  civil  war. 

Campbell,  Henry  Colin— Menard,  the  Jesuit.     Migrations  of  the  Hurons. 

Davidson,  Rev.  John  Nelson  — Beginnings  of  Higher  Education  in 
Wisconsin. 

Gregory,  John  G.— -Suffrage  in  Wisconsin. 

Kelly,  Frederick  W.—  Local  Government  in  Wisconsin. 

La  Boule,  Rev.  Joseph  S. — Allouez,  the  Father  of  Wisconsin  Missions. 

Legler,  Henry  E. —  Mormons  in  Wiaconfin. 

MoIntosL,  Montgomery  E. —  Co-operative  Communities  in  Wisconsin. 

Miller,  Frank  H.— Polanders  in  Wisconsin. 

Starkey,  Dan  B.— Wisconsin  and  the  Revolntionnry  Epoch. 

Stickney,  Gardner  P.— Certain  Vegetable  Food  Products  of  Wisconsin 
and  Their  Bearing  upon  Indian  Life. 

Terry,  Frank  T.—  Wisconsin  Aborigines. 

Wight,  William  Ward— Joshua  Glover,  the  Fugitive  Slave. 


Publication  Committbe.—  Henry  Colin  Campbell,  Henry  E.  Legler  and 
John  G.  Gregory.  

The  Parkman  Club  was  organized  Dec.  10th,  1895,  for  study  of  the  history 
of  the  Northwest.  Its  publications  are  printed  for  private  distribution  by 
the  members  of  the  club.  A  limited  number  of  copies  of  each  paper  is  set 
aside  for  sale  and  exchange.  Single  copies  are  sold  at  the  uniform  price  of 
25  cents,  and  the  annual  subscription  (10  numbers)  is  placed  at  $1.50. 

Correspondence  may  be  addressed, 

Gardnek  p.  Sticknbv,  Secretary, 

427  Bradford  Street,  Milwadkbb,  Wis. 


